Today, a little old lady ran the red light as I was bringing William home from school. HOWEVER, I saw her coming, suspected she was not going to stop and was able to SLAM on my brakes before she arrived. She reacted by slamming on her brakes as well, and I sat there in the middle of the intersection for what seemed like a long time but was probably only a nano-second. The look on her face was incredulous and I knew… I KNEW… she would not have even slowed down had I not stopped first. No harm done… no harm=no foul, right?
But that brings up an interesting point. WHEN… when do you have “that talk” about giving up your license? I mean, think about it, a little old lady… let’s say 85, is left to decide whether she is capable of driving safely. Maybe she is, maybe this was a fluke, I have certainly been caught by “that imaginary line” but this was not like that. I was the 6-7th car through the light, there were LOTS of other cars stopped all around her, she was just not paying attention.
I know people like her. They creep out of the driveway, without really looking, make all right turns to their destination and drive 12mph the entire way. It’s sweet… to a point.
I can not imagine having to give up independence and rely on others for transportation. However, I come back to my point… WHEN do you have that talk? At some point, safety is an issue but how is that addressed? I do not know the answer. I hope that any of you would consider addressing this as part of the normal procedure (regardless of age) “If these things happen (eyesight, health, tickets, etc)… then I agree to give up my license…”
Thanking those guardian angels of driving… once again.